Canada: Court challenge over proposed BC law school that bans gays

A group of lawyers is taking the government of British Columbia to court, over plans for a law school which does not allow gays.

According to The Globe and Mail, the lawyers will this week launch a legal challenge, after plans for Trinity Western University to open a law school were given the green light.

In December Amrik Virk, the area’s Minister of Advanced Education, granted accreditation to the proposed law school, saying it met all academic standards.

Trinity Western University currently has around 3000 students, all of whom must sign a pledge that they will not take part in “sexual intimacy that violates the sacredness of marriage between a man and a woman.”

Five lawyers, from firms Ruby Shiller Chan Hasan and Janes Freedman Kyle Law Corporation, will launch a court challenge against the decision to grant approval, arguing that the school does not fulfil its obligation to treat all students equally, and violates the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

Trevor Loke, one of the plaintiffs in the case, said: “I find the minister’s endorsement of TWU’s law school humiliating.”